


The Run and Go

by KZDipped



Category: Eddsworld - All Media Types
Genre: Genies, Gravity Falls References, Memory Loss, Robots, after a lot of revision here it is!, also hamilton, prosthetic, this was the first thing I thought of after watching the end (and hardly any other eddisodes), y'know probably
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-21
Updated: 2017-09-12
Packaged: 2018-08-23 20:52:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 21,346
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8342278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KZDipped/pseuds/KZDipped
Summary: Everyone knows the story of The End, Tord betrays the Eddsquad, Tom shoots him out of the sky, they move into the apartments, and Tord goes on to lead Red Army and gets a robotic arm.  Backtrack a bit though, what if Edd and his friends hadn't had to leave their house, just rebuild it? This story takes place one week after The End, the group has rebuilt and recovered, and life has gone back to normal.  Y'know, except for Tom; who has found himself thrown into a story that isn't his.





	1. It'd Be Better If I Stay

The first thing Tom noticed when woke up was the lack of light in the room. He glanced toward the door; it was closed, which he supposed made sense. He had slept with his door closed and locked ever since Matt had taken to sleepwalking; although there hadn't been an incident for a few months, he preferred to be on the safe side.

Pushing himself to a sitting position, he let out a surprised groan. His entire body was sore, especially his head and right shoulder. What had happened last night? Or for that matter, what had happened yesterday? He couldn't clearly remember anything, it all felt like a blur. Strange.

Tom turned to check the clock on his bedside table, but was met with the first shock of what was sure to be an alarming day. His bed stand wasn't in its usual place. It was across the room, next to the shuttered window. Since when did his room have a window? He hadn't had a room with a window since… No. He had moved out of this room just after Tord left. Just yesterday it had still been flooded. But here it was, looking just as it had six years ago.

The door opened suddenly (not locked then) and Edd peered in. His eyes settled on Tom, and his face relaxed into a grin. “Guys, Tom’s awake!” He called back into the hall, and an excited reply sounded back. Edd turned on the light as he came further into the room, a look of concern now gracing his features. “How're you feeling?”

“Uhm… Tired. And sore.” Tom blinked in the brightness of the overhead light. “Why am I in my old room?”

“Well, it's probably more comfortable than the couch.” Edd let out a nervous laugh.

“Yeah, but why not my room upstairs? How'd you even restore this one?”

“What do you-“Edd was cut off by Matt bursting into the room and jumping up on the edge of Tom’s bed. 

“TOM!OhmygoshwethoughtyouweredeadTordsaidyou’dbefinebutIdidn’tbelievehimImight’vecalleddibsonyourbassbutI’msogladyou’realrighthow’syourarmworkingdoesitactuallymoveisitmagicalIthinkitwasglowingabitearlierbutit’sgreatyou’reawakeagainIwasgettingsoboredwiththesetwotheycan’tevenwatchProfessorWhyrightitwasreallydisapointingIcan’twaitto-“ Matt finally stopped, heaving for breath. Edd chuckled and gave him a pat on the back.

“Wait, what did you say about-“ Tom stopped, dumbfounded by the figure now standing in the doorway. He turned to Edd, unable to decide whether to be panicked or angry, and showing neither. “What's HE doing here?”

“H-hello Tom.” Tord came closer, standing by the foot of the bed. He seemed uncharacteristically nervous, but that did nothing to soothe Tom’s racing mind. He looked the same he had the day he had both returned and left with a bang. He wore the same red hoodie, hands casually shoved in the pockets, and his hair was spiked in his iconic style. But now that he looked closer, Tom noticed scarring on the right side of Tord’s face, as though it had been severely burned and had only now begun to heal properly.

Tord fidgeted uncomfortably under Tom’s accusing gaze. “Er… Just wanted to see how your arm was doing.”

“What in the name of asdf are you talking-“ Instinctively, Tom had glanced downward, and what would not be the last surprise of the day became apparent. His left arm was fine, pale skin protruding from his grey t-shirt just as it always had. But his right arm… “W-what?” His right arm was gone, replaced by a metal prosthetic. That should have been enough to stun anyone, but that wasn't really what was bothering Tom. The scary part was the design of the appendage; it seemed to be made in the exact shape, style and design as Tord’s mech suit had been, right down to the bright cherry red detailing. It had the same grey plating along the inside, and seemed to have some sort of power orb in the center of the palm, visible from both sides of the hand. It seemed to be grafted to what remained of his arm, as there was no strap holding it on. With another jolt, Tom discovered he could control the prosthetic, moving it just like his regular arm, even down to finger control, although that was more jerky. He looked up again, a mixture of terror and confusion almost unreadable in his dark eyes. “Someone had better tell me right now what in the flapjacking funhouse is going on here.” Tord opened his mouth to speak, but Tom interrupted, “Anyone but him.”

Tord took a step back, obviously put out. Edd glanced between the two, before beginning to speak. “There… Was an accident. Some unattended chemicals in Tord's lab mixed and exploded. You were closest to the blast, we think you had gone into Tord's room to ask him something. Tord was in the kitchen, directly below the lab, but managed to escape without much damage. Matt and I were lucky, we had gone to the store and came back not long after. Do… you remember any of that?” Tom shook his head in silence. “You hit your head pretty hard, you were unconscious when we found you. Otherwise you have a few minor burns, but your arm was the worst, it couldn't be saved. Tord called a contact of his to do the surgery, we figured taking you to the hospital would raise some awkward questions for everyone; plus Tord's friend was a specialist, that's why the prosthetic can move freely. It was all pretty fortunate, in the end.” Edd paused, trying to gauge Tom’s reaction. “Er.. Do you have any questions?” Matt raised his hand slowly. “Not you Matt.”

Tom was quiet for a moment. “How long was I out?”

“Just about two days.”

“So it's been nearly two days since the ‘accident’?”

“Yeah, nearly.”

“Alright. Okay. One more question, um, why is everyone acting like Tord being here is normal?”

Matt was watching the exchange like a tennis match, turning from Tom to Edd as each spoke. Tord didn't appear to react to this question at all, other than perhaps a slight sagging of his shoulders, but really that was almost imperceptible. Edd was surprised at the question,but not nearly as surprised as he was to see how much Tord's presence was bothering Tom. The others couldn't see, but Tom’s hands were shaking, both real and replacement. Glancing back at Tord, Edd casually suggested, “Why don't you and Matt go raid my room for a movie to watch later? I'll meet you there in a few.”

Tord nodded, his expression blank. “Come on Matt, let's find something with lots of zombies.”

“Alright!” Matt popped up and followed Tord, waving a cheery goodbye to the pair remaining.

Edd returned the gesture as did Tom, careful to use his left arm. Taking a seat on the edge of the bed, Edd continued, “Before I answer your question, can you tell me why you're so freaked out about Tord?”

“Isn't it obvious?”

“Pretend it's not.”

Tom let out a nervous sigh. “I just don't understand how you could let him back into the house. After what happened last week…”

“What happened last week?”

“Oh, I dunno, how about when Tord returned after six years of no contact, lied to us, used us, destroyed our property, all to claim a giant mech suit hidden under our house to be used in his plot for world domination.” Tom shrugged sarcastically, then winced. “But I guess that doesn't really matter does it? Water under the bridge and all that. What did he do, say sorry?”

“Tom…” Edd took a moment to compose himself before continuing, “Are you sure that's what really happened?”

“Yes, aren't you?”

“Well… No. The first thing you said, about Tord coming back… He never left? He's lived here, same as you and I, for the past what, eight, nine years? I don't think he's ever left for more than a month. As for the rest… It's true we only just figured out Tord's had a secret lab in his room, but there wasn't any mech suit as far as I know. He showed us everything he was working on, remember? You agreed, with the rest of us, that Tord could stay as long as he let us know what he was up to. Does any of that sound familiar?”

Tom ran his good hand through his hair, obviously more confused than ever. “No. No, that's not what happened, it can't be!”

Edd shrugged slightly. “Like I said, you hit your head pretty hard, at the very least you had a concussion. It's possible you have amnesia, and maybe your brain made new memories to replace the old? At least, the doctor agreed that could be a possibility.”

“Right, the doc Tord called in. Excuse me if I don't take that as reassurance.” Tom rolled his eyes.

It was Edd’s turn to sigh. “Look Tom, I know you and Tord have been rivals for basically forever, I get that. But Tord really was sorry when you got caught in the explosion. If you had been awake, you would have seen that he really did care, he did all he could to get you fixed up. Maybe it's time you two put your differences aside. I think you'll find he'd be more than willing.” Tom said nothing in reply. “I know this is probably really hard, especially when you're memories are all wacked up. Feel free to ask me and the guys anything. Just… go easy on Tord, okay? This has been difficult for him too.”

Once again, Tom was sullen, but when he saw the look on Edd’s face he relented and agreed, “Fine. I'll try to be civil. But you watch, he'll be back to cracking jokes at my expense within the week!” Tom gestured with his right arm, but when he saw the metal substitute, he quickly lowered it and became quiet again.

Edd nodded. “Thanks. You wanna come down and watch a movie in a bit?”

“Yeah, sure. Come get me when it's starting.”

“Okay. Guess I'd better go check on Matt and Tord, it's been pretty quiet and-“

There was a sudden thump down the hall, and a loud cry of, “THE CHICKENS! THEY’VE COME TO EXACT REVENGE!” from Matt.

Edd laughed as he leapt off the bed and hurried toward the door. “I better go sort that out then, be back in a bit!” Tom nodded, and Edd left the room, leaving Tom to sort out his muddled thoughts.


	2. Just Slow Enough To Make You Uncomfortable

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Movie night with the bois and bonding time (TM)

After about ten minutes of running around and screaming, accompanied by gunshots and doors slamming, whatever adventure had occurred in Edd’s room seemed to be over. It was strange for Tom, who was used to being part of the action, not listening from afar. Not that he wasn’t glad for the solitude; a chance to think was more than welcome. 

On the one hand, he knew what he remembered. And there was no way the design of the robotic arm could be a coincidence. But on the other hand (pun completely intended), Edd had never lied to him before. So either his most trustworthy friend was no longer so, or Tom really had lost his marbles. Neither was reassuring in the slightest. And Tom didn't even want to think about Tord. So he didn't. Rather than dwell on the issues, Tom did what he did best; avoid problems. 

He pushed himself up out of bed, hesitantly testing his new arm. As much as he didn't trust its creator, he had to admit it functioned quite nicely. It was strange; he could feel when he touched a surface, but not its texture, so he couldn't tell the difference between a sheet and a bedframe without looking. Other than the pain in his shoulder, which was sure to heal, he couldn't really complain. Well, of course he could; but that would mean addressing one of the many problems, and now wasn't the time for that. 

Standing up wasn't so bad; he was a little sore, but he's felt worse. Tom took a step forward, and then another, while another shout and thump sounded down the hall. Alright, so walking was fine too. He made his way toward the closet, pulling out one of his signature navy hoodies to put on over his t-shirt. That was probably not a good idea with his sore shoulder and new arm; within seconds he had gotten himself stuck, hoodie half on and arm refusing to move through the sleeve. 

Just then Edd popped back into the room, breathing hard but grinning like an idiot. “Think it's all clear now- pfff, what happened?” 

Tom frowned, hidden by the blue cloth. “My arm’s stuck, mind giving me a hand?” 

“Sure, of course!” Edd grabbed Tom’s arm and helped maneuver it through the sleeve. “You know you just made a pun right?” 

“…Shut up.” Pulling his head through and straightening the hoodie in annoyance, he glared as Edd laughed. 

“Aw, don't be mad. You ready to come downstairs?” 

“Sure.” Tom began to walk more quickly toward Edd, then suddenly grabbed onto the side table for support. “Woah, everything's gone sideways…” He was suddenly aware of just how hungry he was. Not sure how he had missed that detail. 

“You alright?” Edd came closer, close enough to catch Tom if he needed it, but just far enough to give him space. 

“Yeah, think I'm just hungry. Guess not eating for two days isn't a great idea.” Tom straightened up and grinned sheepishly. 

“Aw jeez I forgot! Sorry Tom, come on I'll get something for you.” Edd dashed off to the kitchen, and Tom followed him out more slowly, heading into the living room instead. 

“Tom!” Matt waved to him from his spot on the couch. “We're gonna watch Escape From the Mutant Zombie Wizards!” 

“Awesome.” Tom took a seat on the far side, next to Matt, and on Matt’s other side Tord. “Isn't this that parallel movie to Insane Zombie Pirates 3?” 

“Yep! Lots of mindless violence and terrible puns, what could be better?” Matt tossed the dvd case up in the air, and caught it just before it hit the floor. “We have three of the sequels too, all night marathon here we come!” 

“If you can stay awake that long,” Tord commented. 

Matt dropped the case in mock anger. “What are you talking about? I can stay up way later than you!” 

“It's just that the last three movie nights we've had, you've fallen asleep before we've even got through half the second movie. Your track record isn't fantastic.” 

“I can so stay up! You watch, I'll be up the latest tonight!” 

The Norwegian laughed quietly. “If you say so friend.” 

Edd came in just then, balancing a platter full of popcorn, bacon and drinks. They distributed the food and started the movie, and Tom was surprised at how laid back everyone was. It felt just like old times. Matt shrieked at the scary bits, Edd laughed at the bad acting, Tord paid close attention to the gory parts, and Tom complained about how terrible the special effects were. This was what was so great about their group; as much as they may argue and fight, when the four of them got together something just seemed to click and make the strange friendship work. 

True to the past, Matt fell asleep before the second movie’s villain had been revealed, much to the amusement of the other three. After leaving several permanent marker tattoos on the sleeping Brit, they watched through the third movie, before Edd declared he was heading to bed. Engrossed in the movie, Tom nodded without thinking; several minutes later it occurred to him that, save for sleeping Matt, he was alone with Tord. 

Halfway through the fourth movie (The Return of Voldemuerto) (A/N this is such a dumb joke there was no way I could cut it out) Tord finally broke the silence. “So, uh… Tom. Are you very sore?” 

Tom hesitated a moment before replying, remembering his conversation with Edd and holding back the sarcastic remark. “Nah. Just my shoulder a bit, but it's nothing.” 

“Good, good.” Another moment of silence. “Look, uh, this is kind of a weird question, but would you mind if I looked at your arm?” 

“Oh. Uh, sure.” 

“Aw, really? Thanks!” The enthusiasm in Tord's voice was unmistakeable. He crossed over to the opposite side of the couch and sat down on Tom's right, gazing at the shiny metal like a child who's received a new toy. “Do you mind if I touch it?” 

“No, go ahead.” Despite his forebodings, Tom was starting to get curious about where this was going. 

Tord carefully took the prosthetic in his hands, turning it gently from side to side, then flexing the joints in the hand and elbow. “Wow… I can't believe it worked this well.” 

“What do you mean?” Tom winced a little; Tord had turned the arm a little too quickly, causing an unpleasant twinge in his shoulder. 

“Oh, sorry.” Tord let go of the arm, a proud smile on his face. “I designed the prototype for this years ago, after a certain… situation arose with one of my acquaintances. I don't know a lot about anatomy, but I am quite skilled at engineering and robotics, so with my friend Paul’s help we created the final model. I came up with the power orb in the hand to carry the electrical current from the nerves in the shoulder to the fingers, enabling better control than most models. Paul was in charge of making it compatible with the human body, obviously he did his job well…” Tord drifted off into silence, lost in his thoughts. “Sorry, guess I was rambling a bit.” 

“No no, it's fine. So is he the one who attached it? Paul?” Tom was definitely intrigued now. “Edd said you called in a specialist.” 

“Yes, that was him. He was happy to do it, to be honest I think he had been wanting to test this model for a long time, and was just excited to finally have a real life situation rather than the computer simulations we had been using, especially since the first scenario didn't work out.” 

“So I was your test subject.” 

Tord paused, noting Tom's hostile tone. “As a manner of speaking, yes. You were our first real patient, but we had already run countless tests, and Paul is particularly skilled. The only thing that could have gone wrong would have been if the nerves in the shoulder hadn't connected properly, but they seem to have done so, so I'd call it a success.” 

“Hmm.” They fell into silence once more, Tom trying to process this new information. Tord seemed sincere, but then again, this was how he had acted when he had returned before too. Or at least he did as far as Tom could remember, which might mean nothing at all. Of course, Tord could have tricked Edd and Matt somehow, making them believe in a past that wasn't true… But if that was the case, why wasn't there any obvious evidence of the past week taking place? And there was something about the way Tord was acting that just seemed too honest to be acting… He let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding, tapping a finger on his leg in an attempt to distract himself and focus on the movie again. 

Once again, Tord broke the several minute silence. “I, er, know you already spoke to Edd about this, but… do you really not remember the past six years?” 

“Not the way you do I guess.” 

“Oh.” Another short silence, punctuated by a rather gory beheading on the tv. “If you don't mind me asking, what do you remember? Not just about me, but the entire period of time you believed me to be gone.” 

Tom hesitated for a moment, debating whether or not this could possibly be a good idea. “Well… the first thing Matt, Edd and I did after you left was go to Atlantis to find Matt’s keys…” 

Before long (they were nearing the climax of the movie), Tom had recounted most of the major events he remembered, including Tord's return, and the rebuilding of the house. To his surprise, many of the events seemed fuzzy once he tried to recall them, especially finer details. When he had finished, Tord nodded thoughtfully. “Based on what you've just told me, your memories of the past six years are all intact, your brain just edited me out, then created the recollection of my return and betrayal.” He stated this in a flat tone, not betraying any emotion. 

“Why would I do that? Sounds stupid.” 

“You went through a lot of trauma, and it's not like we were ever close friends, far from it. You just wanted to believe everything was alright, that you were safe, and your subconscious leapt to obey. I just wasn't part of your solution.” He let out a short laugh, devoid of mirth. “Can't say I blame you.” 

“Yeah, well, we’ve both screwed each other over plenty.” Tom took a sip of his cola and frowned. “Guess it's not all your fault.” 

Matt let out a particularly loud snore, and the two men laughed, before falling back into an embarrassed quiet. But this time, Tom spoke first. “Look, I'm gonna be honest, I have no desire to make up as things are, I'm confused and tired and I really think our friendship is irreparable.” 

Tord blinked, then nodded. “Of course, if that's what you-“ 

“But.” Tom interrupted, “that just means we need to start over. So hello, my name's Tom, what's yours?” He held out his left hand, a blank look on his face. 

Tord hesitated, then grinned, taking Tom's hand and shaking it firmly. “Tord. Nice to meet you Tom.” 

“Likewise.” 

Suddenly a triumphant laugh came from just outside the dimmed living room. Tom and Tord whirled around just in time to see Edd disappearing around the corner, shouting, “IT’S A MIRACLE! FRIENDSHIP REALLY IS MAGIC!” 

Tom watched as he ran off down the hall, then turned back to Tord. “Let's hide his cola as a revenge prank.” 

“You know he has more hidden around the house right?” 

“He’ll run out eventually, and come crawling to us for mercy.” 

Tord laughed. “I like the way you think Tom.” 

Later, as Tom lay in bed, their revenge carried out, he wondered if he had made the right decision. He certainly could have kept up the act longer, and he was definitely still suspicious of Tord. But everyone else seemed so certain of the truth, and Edd was so happy to see them getting along… It wasn't like he had any proof of what he remembered anyway, so what did it matter? Just trauma or whatever, like they all said… 

Wait. Tom jolted awake, suddenly remembering. There was one surefire way to tell if Tord was telling the truth, one thing he wouldn't have been able to cover up or erase. Tomorrow, he'd pay a visit to the neighbours.


	3. It Must Be Nice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fallout from Edd's cola theft and an interview with the neighbors

Tom woke up the next morning to hear Edd screaming, “WHO TOOK MY BREAKFAST COLA I SWEAR SOMEONE IS GOING TO PAY FOR THIS!” He rolled over and chuckled; and for a second everything felt normal. Until he saw the bright red metal sticking out from under the blanket. With a sigh, he pulled himself up and out of bed, throwing on a hoodie and jeans (without getting stuck this time) and resolving to get his arm painted by the end of the week, or at least get rid of the red; every time he saw it it threw him off. 

As he entered the kitchen, he was greeted by Matt running to hide behind him. “Tom! Tell Edd I didn't take his soda!” He whined. 

Tom chuckled and looked across the room at Edd, who was positively fuming. “It wasn't Matt, Edd, consider this payback for spying on us last night.” 

“TOM I AM SURPRISED AT YOU YOU KNOW HOW IMPORTANT MY MORNING COLA IS WHERE IS TORD” 

“Probably hiding from your wrath.” Tom smirked, grabbing the milk from the fridge and pouring himself some cereal. 

Edd took a deep breath, calming himself down. “Alright, okay, I see how it is. I guess I'll just make my breakfast then… Oh look, there's only one more piece of bacon, guess I'll eat that…” 

Tord dashed into the kitchen frantically. “DON’T YOU DARE TAKE THE LAST PIECE EDD.” 

“Well then, TELL ME WHERE MY COLA IS.” 

“Tord, stay strong-“ 

“It's in my lab, on my workbench, now GIVE ME THAT!” 

Edd ran off, dropping the bacon on the counter for Tord. Tom rolled his eyes as Tord prepared his breakfast. “Y’know, if you cave that quickly, it takes away the point of the prank in the first place.” 

“Yeah well, I think he learned his lesson,” Tord sniffed as he put the bacon in the microwave. “Don't want to take the joke too far or anything.” 

“Oh for sure, right.” There was no mistaking the sarcastic tone in Tom's voice. He finished off his cereal and stood up, heading for the back door. “I'm gonna go next door real quick, be back in a few.” 

“Aw, what for? Those guys are jerks!” Matt glanced at Tom, slightly confused. 

“Oh I left something outside a while ago and it disappeared, I'm gonna see if any of them took it.” 

“Oh, alright.” Matt nodded, then blinked. “Wait, what did you leave?” But Tom had already left. “Huh. What do you think that was all about?” He turned to Tord. 

Tord shrugged. “Who knows? Probably nothing.” 

Tom crossed the yard and walked around the side of the house to the front, already regretting his decision. Relationships with the neighbours had always been strained; they seemed to be the exact opposite of everyone in the adjacent house, so of course a sort of rivalry was inevitable. But he wasn't going to be able to rest until he figured out the truth; and as much as he was beginning to trust his friends’ story, if there was even a possibility he was right, it would pester him until he debunked it. 

He approached the house and rang the doorbell; as he waited, he noticed something on the house that was slightly concerning; there was an obvious outline where the building seemed to have been repainted, right where he remembered the house being hit with a missile from a certain giant robot. Definitely not a good start. But of course that could be a coincidence, anything could have happened to the house, it's probably nothing. Yeah. For sure. 

The door opened, and a man in a pink sweater with a rather pronounced chin looked out, and stopped in surprise. “Tom? What's up?” He sneered slightly. “Come crawling to us for help again?” 

Tom gritted his teeth, making his best effort to be polite. “No, I was just wondering if I could talk to Jon.” 

“Some nerve you've got, coming here and asking that.” Mark turned back into the house to close the door, but Tom stopped it with his foot. 

“Look, I don't want to be here either, but I just have one question, and if you won't let me see Jon, then at least go get Eduardo.” 

Mark hesitated, and in that space of time Eduardo came down the hall, stopping to see what was going on. “Hey Mark, what- you.” He pushed past Mark, stepping outside. “How dare you come back here, after- what happened to you?” He pointed to Tom's arm. 

Tom took a step back, shoving his hands in his pockets. “Accident, apparently. I just wanted to ask you about what happened last week.” 

“Don't you think you should be the one doing the explaining? We thought maybe you'd smarten up after the first time, but you must really be idiots if you let your ‘old friend’ come back again.” 

“What do you mean again?” 

Eduardo laughed. “Don't play dumb, we saw him and those two other guys show up not even a month after the robot thing, with all those helicopters and everything. How'd you guys survive that by the way? House looked pretty messed up. Hey, you alright?” 

Tom had gone awfully pale. “I really think we should compare stories.” 

Eduardo crossed his arms. “Why should we?” 

“Because I’m fairly certain whatever you saw was carefully covered up, and if whoever did that figures out what you know, we’re all going to be in trouble.” 

Eduardo hesitated, then nodded. “I see your point. Come on in; but don't expect us to help you. We’ll tell you what we know and that's it.” 

“That's all I need. …Thanks.” They went inside, Tom casting one nervous glance back at the house before entering. 

The inside of the neighbours’ house was eerily similar to Edd, Tom and Matt’s place; besides the obvious color scheme difference. Tom took a seat on the sofa next to Mark, and Eduardo sat across from them in an armchair. “So, first of all, what do you know?” 

Tom blinked. “Why should I talk first?” 

“You’re the one who came to us, you want us to talk, earn our trust.” 

A moment of silence; then Tom nodded. “You're right. All I know is that a week after the robot incident, I woke up with this arm,” he gestured with the prosthetic, “and my friends didn't seem to remember the robot at all. And Tord was back, but they didn't seem to think he had ever left. They… trusted him.” 

“Did they tell you what happened to your arm?” Mark was looking at Tom, more curious than annoyed. 

“Lab accident.” 

Eduardo shook his head. “I doubt that's what happened. Anything else?” 

“There wasn't anything around to show that the robot thing had ever happened, and the house was just like it had been just before Tord left originally, six years ago or so.” 

“Well, I can tell you one thing right now; the giant robot did happen, so one or all of your ‘friends’ are lying.” Eduardo cracked open a Diet Coke, taking a loud slurp. 

“They just seem really sincere about it, when Tord came back I could tell something was up, but this time they all believe that it really didn't happen. I can usually read people really well, that's why it's so confusing.” Tom shoved his hands in his pockets, catching the prosthetic on the edge of the fabric and getting temporarily stuck. 

Eduardo smirked. “Not sure what that's about then, but I’ll tell you the rest. It's actually been just over five weeks since the robot attack. One week ago, there was a huge commotion outside, and we saw a car drive up to your house, and Tord and two other guys climbed out of it. It looked like there was some kind of argument or something? We think we saw you guys come out, but everything got sort of hazy, especially after the helicopters showed up.” 

Mark nodded. “What were there, five? Six choppers?” 

“Something like that, all kicking up dust. There were a few minutes where they were all kind of hanging around the house, and we went inside at that point. Couple minutes later, there was an explosion, and we looked back out to see your house blown up and on fire. Mark almost wanted to go check it out, but I convinced him not to. No offence.” 

“None taken.” 

“A little while later, we saw you guys arrive at the house, which we thought was kind of strange, since we had seen you outside the house before. It looked like you had gone to the store or something, you all seemed pretty surprised to see the remains of your place. We saw you guys, over the next while, get the house rebuilt and move back in, and then a couple days ago we saw Tord for the first time.” Eduardo set down his drink, an unsettled look on his face. “That's all we’ve got.” 

“Didn't see those other two guys again either,” Mark added. “The ones who came with Tord originally? Yeah, we’re not sure where they went.” 

Tom was silent for a moment, eyes half closed as he contemplated the information. “Yep, didn't think it was possible, but I’m officially way more confused than I was before.” 

Eduardo gave a dry laugh. “Yeah well, we’ve done more than our share. But a little advice; if your friends are happy, and there's no immediate danger, don't go rushing to expose whatever’s going on. Maybe there’s a good reason for what’s happened.” 

“Tord’s never given me a reason to trust him before, and I don't see why that should change now. If he is behind this, I can't let him get away with it.” Tom paused. “But maybe directly confronting him is a bad idea.” 

“Hey, it's not like we care. Do whatever you want.” Eduardo stood up, prompting Tom to do the same. “I don't envy your situation though. Good luck.” 

“Thanks.” Tom left the house, thoughts distracted. Until a creepily familiar voice called his name. Tom whirled to see a ghost floating just above the ground in front of him, slightly blue and with a small smile on his face. “J-Jon?” 

“Yep, it's me.” Jon shuffled his feet nervously, seemingly unaware he was hovering several feet off the ground. “Sorry I didn't show myself earlier, I don't think Eduardo wanted me to. He's pretty angry with you guys still, I'm surprised he let you in the house at all.” 

“Yeah, me too. Look, I’m sorry you died, I never wanted that to happen, and it could have been prevented…” 

“No no, it's not your fault! Please don't feel bad about it, it was just an unlucky coincidence.” Jon laughed slightly, then got more serious. “Just make sure it doesn't happen to anyone else. By the look of your arm, you could have been next.” 

Tom nodded numbly. “I’m going to stop this, don't worry.” 

“Thanks. I’ll see you around Tom!” Jon floated back inside his house, ignoring the door and dissipating through the wall instead. 

“Yeah… See ya.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mark is really fun to write for some reason, maybe because we really don't know that much about his character?  
> Also, I'd love to hear your guesses for where the plot is going! ;)  
> Thanks for reading!


	4. In The Room Where It Happens

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little downtime (TM)  
> 

When Tom returned to the house, he found Edd and Matt in the kitchen, Edd happily nursing one of his rescued colas. “Oh hey Tom! Did you find what you were looking for?” 

“Oh yeah, it’s all good now.” Tom glanced down the hall. “Do you know where Tord is?” 

“I think he’s in the lab, I may have made a bit of a mess when I ran in there, I tripped over a table or something I guess.” Edd shrugged; it was perfectly normal to ignore an entire table when his cola was at risk. “Why, what’s up? You're not looking for an argument are you?” 

“No, just wanted to ask him something.” Tom shrugged, starting to head down the hallway. “We’re cool now Edd, you know that.” 

“Yeah, I guess so.” Edd laughed. “That's still weird to think about, you guys have fought for years! What are you gonna do with all that free time?” 

“Find a proper way to get back at you for eavesdropping,” Tom called back, smirking when he heard nervous laughter in response. He headed toward his Tord’s room, and sure enough the lab was open, the medium sized room plainly visible just beyond the bedroom. 

Tord looked up as Tom entered, in the middle of cleaning up some colourful liquids that seemed to be spread across the floor. “Hey Tom. Careful, some of this is acidic.” He sat back on his knees, a crumpled up mass of paper towel in his hand and more scattered around. “If I was thinking clearly I would have come to get the cola myself; Edd wasn't even trying to be careful. I’m going to have to start all over.” 

“What was it?” Tom asked, stepping around a particularly neon puddle. 

“I was experimenting with the effect of this serum on chlorophyll.” He tossed a handful of paper towel across the floor, allowing it to begin soaking the liquid up. “I was so close too. Ah well. What’s up?” 

“I was just wondering if you could re-explain what this lab was for, since..” 

“Oh of course! Here, let me just-“ Tord ripped off another paper towel, then, deciding it was a lost cause for the time being, dropped the cleaning supplies and stood up. “Uh… Watch your step.” He tiptoed around the majority of the spillage, motioning for Tom to follow him to the right side of the room. “I used to use this space when I was working for a revolutionary group, mostly designing weapons and stuff, until I decided to quit. They were basically giving me a choice of staying here or moving back to Norway, and I might have had a few arrest warrants keeping that from being a safe possibility…” 

“How can you have a few?” 

Tord laughed. “Assumed names and fake ID work wonders, but also make for some awkward situations occasionally. That would be one of them. Anyway, I decided it wasn't worth it and stayed here, and I still design weapons and stuff, just not for a purpose I guess? Just for fun.” He motioned to a closet full of strange looking guns and several sabre-like objects, some emitting a strange glow. “All of this stuff is perfectly stable, y’know, as long as it stays room temperature. Probably.” 

“Why are you just keeping it out in the open then?!” 

“I’m just kidding, all of it’s fine! Besides, this room’s like a bunker, even if something melted down in here you wouldn't be able to tell from the outside. It was specially built that way.” Tord motioned to a corner nook filled with beakers and other equipment. “That's just tools and stuff, nothing particularly special.” 

Tom looked toward the center of the back wall, at a steel door with what looked like a food slot on the bottom. “What was that for? Looks like a cell.” 

Tord’s face reddened noticeably, and he strode over to the door, pressing a button on the wall. “It was a cell, for a… failed experiment.” The door slid open, revealing a small space lit with a ceiling lamp, scratch marks on the walls and even on the ceiling. “Needless to say, one of my lower points. I lost a friend the day it escaped, I still get nightmares about it.” 

“Oh. I’m sorry.” 

“Nah, it’s my fault. I needed to be reminded of my limits.” He closed the door, then turned, a surprisingly cheery smile on his face. “Anyway! Projects I’m working on now are a teleportation ray, a gun with various stun settings that won’t cause side effects after the fact, and a growth formula that won’t spiral out of control and create plant monsters, but you saw that one.” 

“How do you know how to do all this stuff?” 

“Went to school for a degree in mechanics, I specialized in robotics but never really did anything with it. The rest of it I just picked up here and there, mostly through trial and error. A lot of error.” He laughed, then shrugged nervously. 

Tom glanced once more around the room, taking in every detail of it. “You’re working on all that with this small a space?” 

“I used to have another lab when I was with the revolutionists, but I lost all rights to it when I left, unfortunately.” Tord closed the cell, stepping back toward the centre of the room and prompting Tom to do the same. “This space has been fine for my needs so far, but I wouldn't mind getting another workspace sometime in the future, get this stuff out of you guys’ way.” He clapped his hands together. “Anyway, I think that’s pretty much it. Any questions?” 

“No, I think that’s-“. A sudden crash from down the hall distracted the two men momentarily. They stood in silence, waiting to hear any sort of follow up noise, and there was nothing for a moment. Until Edd yelled, “MATT GET AWAY FROM DIZZY!” And another crash. 

Tom bolted down the hall, ignoring Tord’s call to wait. He turned into the living room, only to duck as a wooden frame came flying at his head. The lights were eerily dimmed, and the main source of luminescence came from the creature hovering midair in the centre of the room. It reminded Tom of a genie from the old fairy tales, with a distinctly feminine look. She (?) was facing Edd, who had crawled into a corner, cheeky grin on his face, as he tried to dodge various flying household items. “For the last time, mortal, my name is DAISY. Honestly, how some of my kind can stand you at all is a miracle!” She waved her arm, and a vase smashed just above his head. “Now leave this place, your friend summoned me here by way of the magic mirror and by the ancient laws this is my new temple!” 

“I didn't know the mirror was magic! Honest!” Matt piped up, sticking his head up above the couch he was hiding behind. “My reflection was just so beautiful and- AH!” He ducked back down as a remote flew towards him. “I must have cleaned it too well!” 

Tom glanced to the side; picking up a conveniently placed book as it flew by, he threw it at the genie, only to watch as it flew through her ghostly form. She whirled around, full attention now on Tom. “Did you just throw LITERATURE at me?” She waved her hand in anger, pulling Tom up into the air in front of her. “Did you really think that would stop me?! For this you will PAY.” Her eyes glowed bright white, and Tom flinched away, until a sudden jerk on his leg pulled him back to earth and someone shouted, “DUCK!” 

Tom fell to the floor with a thump, just before a bright flash of light filled the room, coupled with a scream of rage. Crashes came from around the room as various items dropped, several definitely breaking. Blinking quickly, Tom sat up, trying to get a grasp on what had just happened in the now dark room. Someone flicked on the light, and Tom could now see Tord, standing in the doorway with a rather large gun, glowing on the sides and front, tucked under his arm. “Everyone alright?” The Norwegian asked. 

A broken sob came from behind the couch. “My mirror smashed!” 

“You have plenty more Matt, honestly, that was probably for the best.” Edd stood up and walked over to Tom, offering a hand. “You okay?” 

“Yeah.” Tom accepted the help and pulled himself up, turning to Tord. “What is that?” 

“This?” Tord turned the gun over in his hands, looking at it proudly. “It’s a particle destabilizer, specially designed for situations like these where a corporeal being needs to be neutralized. I hadn’t had a chance to test it yet, I got the blueprints from a friend of mine so I had to assume it would work.” 

“Well… Thanks.” 

Tord blinked at Tom, then smiled. “No problem. We should probably get this place cleaned up though.” He slung the gun over his shoulder, gazing around the room at the debris strewn about. 

“Yeah…” Edd glanced at the couch. “You wanna help Matt?” 

“HOW CAN YOU THINK OF CLEANING AT A TIME LIKE THIS?!” 

“Matt.” 

“Fine…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am unashamedly in love with Monster! Tom and will reference it in any way possible
> 
> Also, yes that was a mirror mirror reference, albeit a poor one :'D


	5. Notion of a Simple Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ghost in your home~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If I had thought this through I would've put out this chapter for Halloween  
> Ah well

Several hours later, the house was pretty much back to normal. Matt had held a hasty burial service for his mirror (he was the only attendee) and everyone else tidied up the living room and hallway. As it turned out, the blaster Tord used left a nice layer of soot on the ceiling, that only came down on the room and all its occupants after Edd noticed it and poked it with a broom. Anyway, several hours and showers later, everyone had gathered once again in the kitchen to make a quick dinner before Edd had to run off to a client meeting and Matt on a “date”.

Afterward, Tom headed back to his room, shrugging off his hoodie as he went (thankfully without getting stuck this time). He plopped down on his bed, tired but content. You know, besides the crushing knowledge that everything was amiss in this world. Other than that, he felt great.

He glanced at the clock; still twenty minutes til dinner. Time to play Susan then! Getting up, he walked over to the vault on the wall and took out his precious bass guitar. At least Susan looked like how he remembered her; very, very broken, but functional. He sat back down on the bed and strummed the strings experimentally. Also perfectly tuned, as per usual. He played a few chords, before launching into a proper tune, notes getting gradually more complex and each in sync with the last.

“I didn’t know you could play an instrument!”

Tom jumped, nearly dropping Susan and falling off the bed. He whirled around, to see Jon floating near the door. “Jon?!” He laughed nervously. “You nearly gave me a heart attack!”

“Oh, sorry!” Jon glanced back at the door he had passed through sheepishly. “Sometimes I forget I don’t really make noise anymore… But I didn’t mean to startle you!”

“It’s fine, don’t worry about it.” Tom set Susan down beside him, turning to face Jon properly. “How’s it going? You’ve never come to visit before.”

“Well, I don’t see why we can’t be friends!” Jon floated nearer, glowing happily. “I’d like to visit Edd and Matt too, although I’m still not sure about Todd…”

“It’s Tord. And don’t worry, I feel the same way.”

“Yeah… Anyway, I didn’t mean to interrupt! What is that, a bass guitar?”

Tom nodded, looking at the instrument affectionately. “I’ve had ‘er for years, since before I got kicked out of my old apartment. She’s, uh… Not quite mint condition, but plays beautifully anyway.”

“Yeah, it sounded fantastic! None of my friends can play any instruments as far as I know, it’d sure be a surprise haha.”

“Yeah I can’t really imagine Eduardo being in a band.” Tom laughed. “What about you? Ever played an instrument?”

“I used to play guitar a bit, never much good though.” Jon “sat” on the bed, legs crossed. “Haven’t tried to play since I died, wonder if I could.”

“Yeah, how’s that working out for you?”

“Oh fine, still getting used to walking through walls and stuff.” Jon shrugged, then laughed softly. “Fell through your floor when I came in, didn’t realize you guys had a basement.”

“Hmm?” Tom plucked Susan’s strings, slight frown coming over his face. “We don’t have a basement.”

“Well I fell into something, looked like a hallway.” Jon played with the bedspread, hands barely moving the fabric before passing through it. “Thought I saw someone at the end of it too, but I didn’t want to startle them, so I just floated back up here.”

“You’re not joking?”

Jon shook his head. “Maybe there’s a secret organization working under this street!”

“Yeah…” Tom bit his lip. “What did the person look like? Government type, or…”

“I dunno, they were wearing a long jacket thing, and a sweater?” Jon shrugged. “Not military as far as I’d know.”

“Hoodie?”

“No, like a turtleneck.” Jon looked sideways at Tom. “You alright? You feel nervous.”

Tom blinked, obviously breathing slowly in an attempt to appear calm. “Feel?”

“Oh yeah, sometimes I can just kind of feel strong emotion coming off people. Sorry if I upset you.”

“No no, it’s not you.” Tom stood up, putting Susan back in her case. “I shouldn’t be worried about it, but that just seems like a strange coincidence... But it’s not your fault.”

“If you want, I could go check it out.” Jon got up and floated next to Tom. “I’ll just fly down there and take a peek around, let you know what I find?”

“No, I don’t want to put you in that situation, what if whoever’s down there sees you?”

“They won’t!”

“I mean, they could-“ Tom looked over at Jon, only to find he had disappeared. “Or maybe not.”

Jon reappeared, smiling wide. “See? I’d be fine!”

Tom shook his head. “We’ve caused you enough trouble, Eduardo’d never forgive me if I told you to go down there.”

“And you’re not telling me to, I’m going to help you out!” Jon glanced back toward the door. “You’re right about Eduardo though, he would be upset… I’ll come back tomorrow and investigate okay? He won’t suspect anything, I usually go out during the day, but it’s a little late now.”

“I mean-“ Tom looked down, then back at Jon. “If you insist, that would be awesome of you. Thanks.”

“No problem, Tommy!”

“Don’t call me that.”

Jon laughed. “Alright. See you tomorrow!” He floated back out the room, this time through the wall outside.

Tom looked after him a moment, then flopped back down on the bed. “See ya.”

* * *

Two days later, Tom was surprised once again by Jon, this time as he was walking out of the bathroom after a much needed shower. “Jon?! What’s up?” He asked, pulling his hoodie on the rest of the way over his damp hair. He had gotten a lot better with his arm, it only snagged slightly as he reached through the sleeve and released his hand. Luckily it seemed fairly waterproof; the circuitry, although damp, was working fine.

“Tom! I wanted to tell you, I found the way in to the lab thingy!” Jon floated next to him, following him into his room.

“Really?” Tom took a seat on his bed, watching Jon hover up and down in excitement. “So there is an entrance in the house?”

“Yep! There’s a bunch of other weird stuff too, but I figured you’d want to know that first. It is in the lab, but you can only open it from the other side as far as I can tell, not from the lab itself.”

Tom thought about this. “What could be the point of that?”

“What do you mean?”

“If Tord was using it, wouldn’t he want to be able to open it from this side?”

Jon blinked. “You think it belongs to Tord?”

“Well, that’s kind of the concern. Why, you don’t think it is?” Jon shook his head. “I didn’t see Tord down there, or really any kind of sign that he had been in there. There were only two guys, with living quarters and stuff, along with a lab and maybe a weapons vault or something? I couldn’t get in there, it was made out of something I couldn’t pass through, same as the lab.”

“Weird. Any sign of what the guys were doing?”

“Kind of… It looked like they were keeping surveillance on the house?”

“What?!”

“Yeah, I mean, there was this one room that had a bunch of screens set up, no sound or anything, just feeds of different rooms in the house and like the yard and stuff.”

“And you don’t think that’s cause for concern?!”

“Well…” Jon shrugged sheepishly. “I mean they must have been down there for a while right? And they haven’t done anything yet. It wasn’t just the house, they had surveillance on a whole bunch of other places too, stuff I didn’t recognize but they had outfits like the two who were down there.”

Tom was silent, thinking. Jon glanced at him, slightly worried. “You want to go down there, don’t you.”

“I’d need your help, if you could open the door from the other side.”

“I dunno Tom, this doesn’t seem like a great idea… I saw the guys again, and they both had guns.” Jon fidgeted nervously. “Why not tell the others?”

“They’ll just think I’m crazy, and to be honest I’m not even sure they know you died. If I’m going to do this, I’m doing it alone.” Tom got up and moved to the closet, rummaging around underneath several shoeboxes. He pulled one out and opened it, pulling out a pistol and showing it to Jon. “It’s not like I’d be going in unprepared.”

“I mean…” Jon hesitated.

“Look, I’ll find my way in eventually regardless, especially now that I know it exists. Why not just help me now?” Tom stood up, sticking the pistol into his jeans pocket and covering it with his hoodie. “Wait a sec, they could see me coming on the cams… Alright, I’d need you to do two things.”

“…Alright. I’m in.”

* * *

Tom and Jon both agreed to wait a couple days before putting their plan into action; mostly to avoid suspicion from the men downstairs, who may or may not have been able to see Jon on the cameras; either way, they more than likely saw Tom retrieve the gun, and might be on guard for a visit from the black-eyed man.

Tom, meanwhile, was finding it a lot harder to keep cool than before. He was sure whatever was in the basement was Tord’s doing, but also couldn’t prove it, at least not yet. There was still the fact that everyone else was acting so normal, and he couldn’t explain that at all. Whatever the case, he was a lot less patient with his roommates, especially Tord, to a noticeable extent. So one night, after snapping unnecessarily at Tord for hogging the couch, Edd pulled the black-eyed man aside for a chat. “Don’t you think that was a little uncalled for?”

“Th’ commie could’ve moved over.”

“And you could’ve been nicer about it,” Edd muttered, leaning against the wall. They were in the stairwell, listening to the soft drone of the television downstairs and Matt and Tord’s friendly conversation. “What’s wrong Tom?”

“Nothing.” Tom glanced back down the stairs, expression blank.

“You’re kidding right?” Edd chuckled, a little sarcastically. “We’ve known each other for years Tom, you don’t think I can tell when something’s off?” Tom shuffled uncomfortably, and seemed about to say something, until Edd continued, “Is it about the whole altered memories thing?”

With barely a moment’s hesitation, Tom nodded, seemingly relieved. “Yeah, I guess it’s just hard to behave one way when I remember something entirely different.”

“Yeah, that sounds terrible.” Edd moved forward, gently pulling Tom in for a hug. Tom stood stiffly for a moment, shocked, but slowly returned the gesture. “I’m sorry Tom.”

“You know none of this is your fault right?” Tom mumbled into Edd’s hoodie.

“I know, but I still feel bad. I just want everyone to be alright.”

Tom pulled back, making Edd look him in the eyes (or rather, lack thereof). “Everything’s gonna be fine, okay? I’m sorry for fighting with Tord again, I’ll try harder.”

Edd nodded, smiling at Tom and stepping back a bit. “You want to come back downstairs?” He noticed with a pang how quickly Tom shoved his robotic hand back into his pocket.

“Yeah, just give me a sec.”

“Alright.” Edd left, stepping down the last few steps into the hall and heading into the living room.. Tom watched him go, then let out a sigh, slouching against the banister. Best that Edd make assumptions at this point. It wasn’t like he was entirely wrong; although it wasn’t like Tom was volunteering the truth either. But the last thing Tom wanted was for Edd and Matt to get mixed up in… whatever this is.

“You alright Tommy?”

To Tom’s credit, he barely jumped this time; he was finally getting used to Jon’s sudden appearances. This time the ghost hadn’t even bothered to pass through the wall completely, just sticking his upper body out of the wall beside Tom. He laughed, covering up what reaction he did have fairly well. “I’m fine Jon. What’s up?”

“I figured it all out, I can open the door, and turn off the cameras for at least an hour. They think it’s just a technical issue with the surveillance equipment, it’s perfect.”

“So we’re good to go then…”. Tom bit his lip, glancing down the hall.

“We don’t have to, you know.” Jon followed Tom’s gaze, understanding his hesitancy. “I mean, we know they’re doing something down there, but so far it doesn’t look like they’re doing any harm.”

“I know.”

Jon continued, “Their surveillance is most likely to make sure you don’t discover their existence or maybe even to protect the house from intruders. We could just leave them be for now, until there’s evidence against them.”

“We could.”

Tom didn’t elaborate further, instead continuing to stare down the hall towards the room his friends were gathered in. Jon looked at him worriedly. “Tom?”

Tom replied stiffly, deliberately, “If we don’t, I’m never going to be able to trust him.”

Realizing the implications, Jon floated the rest of the way into the stairwell. “So…”

“We’ll go tonight. Midnight, or as soon as everyone else is asleep, if you don’t mind checking.” Jon nodded. “Come get me once you do. Hopefully we won’t even disturb whoever’s down there, if it’s a long running operation they may be getting lax on security.”

“Makes sense. I… Guess I’ll see you then.” Jon turned it leave then stopped, as Tom started down the stairs. “You sure you’re gonna be okay Tom?”

“I always am.” Tom waved goodbye to the specter, before heading into the living room to apologize for his earlier behaviour and carry on the charade for just a few more hours.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't given up on this story yet  
> Also, can anyone see the blinding flaw to this plan? I'll give you a hint; it involves a certain short red communist ;)


	6. Feel Good Inc.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Many bad decisions

Tom was, to Jon’s surprise, asleep when Jon arrived; the ghost had to whisper his name several times before he jolted up from his slouched position against the nightstand. “Oh… Sorry Jon, time to go?” 

Jon nodded, floating back toward the door. “Everyone’s sound asleep, and it looks all quiet in the basement lair thingy.” He noted the bulge of the pistol in Tom’s hoodie pocket; of course there was no worry for Jon really, at least none he could think of; but Tom was physically putting himself in harms way for this. If he hadn’t already tried to talk Tom out of it he would. 

The pair headed out of the room into the darkened hallway; the house was very quiet, it seemed strange for the rowdy household. Tom led the way into Tord’s room, Jon floating through the door beside him. Tord was lying still, and Jon nodded; he was asleep, just as he had been five minutes ago when he’d checked. 

Tom shot a glance toward the wall that was usually open to reveal the lab; with a shock and large amount of dismay, he realized it was closed. They were going to have to open the extremely noisy chunk of wall without waking up Tord. 

Jon seemed to notice this at the same time; he looked at Tom, thinking he must have to call it off now, but Tom resolutely stepped to the lever, pausing only a moment before pulling it down. 

The squeal and grinding of the mechanisms shifting seemed impossibly loud in the still house. The intruders stared uneasily at Tord’s bed, waiting for home to wake up and demand to know what they were doing. But he stayed still, and the lab door finished its long-winded drama with a clang. 

Tom sighed with relief, walking into the lave while Jon floated into the wall, turning off the locks hiding the secret addition. A near invisible door swung open, built into a gun rack, and Jon motioned Tom to follow him inside. 

The hallway inside was dark, but Jon’s slight glow illuminated most of their path; they headed down a long flight off stairs into a wider hall, this one lined with doors on either side. Tom took his phone out, turning the flashlight function on, and held it up to the first of the windows in the heavy steel doors. This room revealed a large empty bay, big enough to hold several planes and taller than Tom could see in the dark. Jon motioned Tom over to the opposite door, and the two looked in on what was obviously a weapons bunker, racks of guns and various equipment lining the walls. Another door led to a training room; the next a room filled with television monitors, which Tom assumed was the surveillance equipment. 

Down another hallway and the rooms shifted in size, getting closer together; Jon whispered, “Dormitories, I think.” 

Tom nodded, and continued past this area to another intersection. His flashlight shined across to a similar hall to the one they had just left, then to the right; but before he could see down that one overhead lights flicked on, and voices could be heard coming down the corridor to their left. Jon disappeared, and Tom pressed himself against the wall, trying to stay out of sight around the corner. 

“I’m telling you, I heard something-“ 

“I'm just saying Pat, who else would be down here?” 

“What if it’s Red Leader?” 

“We’re moving according to schedule, it wouldn’t be him. Come on, let’s go back to bed.” 

“…Alright.” 

The voices faded out, footsteps moving in the opposite direction, and Tom let out a breath in relief. He pushed out from the wall, but fumbled his phone in the process; he swiped out for and caught it, but with his metal hand. The sharp clack of metal on plastic casing rang out down the hall, and as Tom backed up against the corner again, he heard sharp whispering and hurried footsteps heading toward him. 

His mind racing, when the soldier turned the corner and ran almost directly into Tom he didn’t hesitate to slam his pistol into the other’s skull. The soldier crumpled to the floor, and a shout from behind was just the motivation Tom needed to start running; the other had looped around, cutting off any escape he might have been able to make. He dashed off down the hall to the left, hearing a gunshot behind him then silence as presumably the soldier stopped to take care of his companion. He turned another corner, only now realizing just how big this place must be; it definitely was not only beneath his house, it must stretch out under most of the neighbourhood. 

He could hear someone pursuing him now; more than likely they were faster than he was, even with the head start he wouldn’t be able to elude them for long. Firing the pistol behind him in an attempt to scare them off a bit, he turned down another corridor; this one a dead end. He started trying doorknobs, looking for a room he could barricade himself in for the time being. Locked, locked, locked… 

“Over here!” Jon called, sticking halfway out of a closed door several feet away. Tom scrambled for the handle, launching himself in and quickly turning the several locks on the back just as someone on the other side smashed into the door. They tried it again, but this was obviously made to keep out intruders, and after a moment it went quiet. Tom was sure they were just waiting outside however, there was no way he’d be able to just walk out now. 

Jon hovered beside him anxiously, before flicking on the light switch. The new illumination revealed they were in one of the labs, a smaller one by the looks of it, but well-used. He looked back at Tom, speaking up: “I’ll distract them, you see if there’s another way out; if not I’ll come back to get you as soon as the coast is clear.” 

“Jon, wait-“ But he had already vanished, and an enormous crash from somewhere else in the facility seemed to point to his location. 

Tom moved deeper into the room, wondering when Jon had become the person in charge; probably when he lost all control of the situation, he supposed. Nothing so far as he could see appeared useful. There were loads of half-finished projects around, bits and pieces of what might be weapons, and other devices he had no idea of their capabilities. It was most likely best to just stick to his gun, as small and fairly unthreatening it felt right now. He passed the rest of the workstations with dull indifference, until the last desk near the back caught his attention. Laying on the table were multiple pieces of robotic equipment and parts, mostly small bits of hardware alongside scribbled post-it notes; but beside these was another arm, nearly identical to his own besides being mostly disassembled. Picking it up, the skeletal joints flexed slightly; it looked as though it had been stripped for parts, leaving only the basic hardware and casing. 

Tom flinched at the red metal, letting the piece fall back to the table with a clang. With a glance down at his own arm, still alien in his mind, he realized how tired he was. He was exhausted, mentally and physically, from worry and suspicion and fear and, ultimately, caring. This was it, the final proof that Tord was involved, is involved, in whatever this was, that he was continuing to lie to his ‘friends’; but Tom couldn’t find any joy in it. What was he supposed to do now? Even if he could escape back upstairs (he doubted the men outside would be so forgiving, he could just as easily wind up imprisoned or dead), bringing Edd and/or Matt down here to exhibit the evidence was obviously a bad idea. Bringing up proof wouldn’t work either, Tord could explain away anything he could carry, claim it was taken from the lab upstairs. His phone camera was busted, had been for months, which left him with just about no options, again, assuming the soldiers didn’t catch him before then. 

He slumped back against the wall, allowing himself a moment to compose his thoughts, but was soon distracted by a screen at the opposite end of the room. It was rather large, like a tv monitor, but had a keyboard and similar computer attachments below it. The screen was flashing the logo plastered all across this base; most likely the symbol for whatever organization this is, Tom thought. He stepped closer, laying his metal hand on the keyboard. To his surprise the screen lit up, displaying the words “access granted”, then “insert memory drive”. 

A quick glance around the area and he spotted a small drawer. Inside it were four USBs, all with the names of the residents in the house above written on masking type stuck clumsily on the devices. His own seemed to have had the name crossed out, replaced with the word “corrupted” scribbled in hasty letters beneath. Looking for and finding the USB port, Tom stuck this one in, only for the screen to display an error screen, requesting the memory stick be removed. 

Tom took it out, sticking it in his pocket as well as the other two USBs, keeping the one marked “Tord” in his sweaty palm. The same logo seen on the screen and in the base was etched on the tape beside the name, only further cementing Tord’s involvement in Tom’s mind. Without another moment of hesitation, he plugged it into the computer; the screen played a small loading sequence, before presenting two options: play or erase. He selected the first, and the screen flashed bright blue, before opening to a very familiar scene… the day Tord left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is not dead I swear, this is the one project of mine I refuse to let die  
> And hey, tell me your story predictions! Honestly it's all over the place right now, I know that, so I'd love to hear what you guys think is gonna happen!


	7. Bonus Chapter: Sleep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tom has a bit of a bad time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was originally supposed to take place at the beginning of chapter six, but then I got lazy and didn't bother. Take this to hold you over until the climax next chap! :D

After bidding a quiet goodnight to the other occupants of the house, Tom headed back to his room. Understandably he was fairly anxious; if all went according to plan, he'd have his answers tonight, one way or another. His shoulder ached; he rubbed it gently with his good hand, letting the fabric of his hoodie glide over the meet of flesh and metal. He wondered how the arm was connected, whether it was permanent or could be detached and/or replaced. Probably not, because of nerve connections or whatever. But he certainly wouldn’t mind getting rid of the bright red appendage, or at least the color. It was distracting and if he was totally honest, a little triggering. 

He flopped down onto his bed, letting out a low moan into the comforter. It was only nine o’clock, he had at least three hours before Jon arrived. Or only three hours. He wasn’t sure if he was looking forward to or negatively anticipating the adventure. But he certainly wasn’t going to back down now, as much as this seemed overly dangerous he wouldn’t be able to stand not knowing the truth. 

He let his mind wander, thinking of this and that, mostly the events that had occurred that day. Of course there was a little regret of lying to Edd, but what was he going to tell him? “Oh, I just found out there’s a huge underground facility under our house that could be for evil/Tord’s intentions, but it’s okay because my ghost friend and I are going to investigate tonight, sorry it’s putting me on edge.” Stupid. He did appreciate Edd’s concern of course, but there was no good way to respond to it, especially right now. Hopefully he had reassured him well enough for the time being. 

Lost in his thoughts, Tom was suddenly jolted by a great noise, an explosion, and the crashing of rubble and debris. He sprang up, confused beyond any reasonable state, and took in the broken world around him. The sky was a faint orange, turning to a burning red on the horizon, as the building he called home finished falling down around him. His hoodie was torn, and smoke filled his lungs, not allowing him any proper breath. He pushed himself up further, to a stand, and watched as a great piece of metal, redder than any surrounding color, fell from the sky far off from his point of view. Someone screamed his name, familiar and comforting but terrifying simultaneously, and he only managed to direct his view back downward to catch a glance of green and purple, before his entire perspective turned to one of fire and destruction once again. 

He stumbled back, trying to catch his balance but failing, and letting out a small shriek before tumbling back off a previously unseen ledge. He fell for a undisclosed amount of time, seconds probably but in the moment it felt so much longer, before smashing painfully into whatever ground was in this now pitch black place. Not even a moment of relief was offered before his right side lit up with pain, a burning unlike any he had experienced before. Tom cried out again, trying to curl up around whatever had happened, whatever state his body had been left in, but it only served to aggravate the area more, until with a final noise and crash Tom fell and hit- 

The floor. His bedroom floor, in a mess of blankets and sweat. He pushed himself up, running his hand through his hair and down his wet face, indiscernible whether tears or perspiration. It was just a dream, just a night terror, he was… fine, just fine. Glancing at the clock revealed it was only eleven thirty. There was still time to wait through, alone, here. He brought both hands to his face, then jerked away from the harsh metal; with a growl of anger and scared frustration, he shoved the imposter into his hoodie pocket. He would not let this get to him, he _wouldn't_. He’d be out with Jon soon, and get to the bottom of this mess once and for all. And if he didn’t… well, he had no idea. No use thinking that way, there would be answers in the bunker, no doubt. 

Crawling towards the bed stand, he opened the drawer and pulled out the pistol he had stashed there earlier, after realizing it was fairly obvious in his pocket and no one was going to look in his room anyways. Leaning back against the table now, he held it in his remaining hand, feeling the hard metal and trying to draw some kind of comfort from it. There wasn’t much to be found however, but regardless of the terror that was still slipping through his mind, the blue-hoodied male slipped back off to graciously dreamless rest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed! Also, thanks so much for nearly 1000 hits! I never thought one of my fics would reach that, and the recent boost in interest is largely due to the fanart ewitstom made for the story on tumblr, if you haven't seen it go check it and him out!   
> As soon as I figure out exactly what I meant in my story plan, the next chapter should be out lol, so look forward to that soon :)


	8. What'd I Miss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flaaaaashbaaaaack

**Start Tape One**

Tord waved a final goodbye to Matt and Edd, standing in front of the house he had called home for nearly three years now. Tom, the relatively new roommate (although the group had been together for quite some time), was pointedly ignoring Tord’s departure, standing near the curb for some reason. Seeing an opportunity, Tord climbed into his car, putting the vehicle into a quick reverse and knocking the black-eyed man to the pavement. He pulled away as the others laughed and moved to check on Tom; he had several hours of driving ahead of him, there was no reason to delay his departure any longer.

Yes, he was off, finally ready to claim his place in the army he'd been working for for almost four years now, in increasingly responsible roles. He had started off small, when a contact within the force had offered to buy a weapon he had invented; since then he had gone from inventing to consulting, actually leaving to fight occasionally and leading small forces. And now here he was, ready to take ownership of the entire operation.

As he pulled up to the grey building, Tord was reminded of just why this was preferable to rooming with three nobodies for the foreseeable future. The establishment was more than impressive, high stone walls surrounding the multiple-acre property, but no soldiers obvious from the outside; towers on each corner fit the aesthetic of ancient castle, without giving away the sentries within. He’d been here many times of course, bringing in weaponry and making friends in high places, but every time he was impressed by the simplicity and magnitude of the base.

The gate opened automatically before him, the men manning it already well aware of his arrival and well-versed in the consequences of delaying a leader. He stepped out of the vehicle, handing the keys to one guard and accepting his jacket from another; of course he did not keep any of the uniform at home, that could not be so easily explained away. Now that he was within the walls the size of the military force was much more impressive; soldiers milled about within the courtyard, going from one task to another or simply enjoying a bit of free time in the small bit of outside air this base possessed. All saluted as Tord passed, whispering to each other as soon as his back was turned. Tord decided he would ignore it this time, of course there would be talk; best not to come off as strict or cruel first thing. He made his way into the main building, then to the leader’s quarters, now his.

As he entered the office, his right hand men Paul and Patryck turned from the computer and saluted. They had obviously been waiting for him. “Shall we rally the troops now, sir?” Paul asked, and Tord nodded. The pair left the room as he sat at his desk, emptying his pockets of rolled up blueprints and notes and leaving them in various drawers. He had already moved all of his current projects to his lab here; these were the last of anything worth saving. Unfinished projects, or the remnants of abandoned or failed prints to learn from later. At the moment, he was plenty busy enough deciding what the best way to declare his complete leadership would be.

Yes, most of the army had heard rumours of the head leader stepping down; but not many knew that Red Leader, who had only had the position for a short year and a half from afar, would be taking over control. This had been the plan almost since Tord's promotion to a leader role, the old leader and many of the other higher-ups had seen some kind of potential (that of course Tord had always known he possessed) that would translate well into the position. And with the recent deposing of said leader, the position had been willed straight to him. To some degree he was meant to be a scapegoat; if any of the other "leaders" screwed up, responsibility would fall to him. But with this in mind, Tord figured, after inspiring some loyalty, he'd make an abrupt change to those policies.

Regardless, tonight wasn't about those measures. Tonight was for him, taking the place he always knew he could. And as he exited his office, heading off to the stage where his loyal followers were awaiting his grand entrance, he had not a thought of the trio of friends he had left behind.

 

* * *

 

Norway fell only three months later, the plans he had set in motion successfully establishing a shadow government controlled entirely at Tord’s hand. Adding that to the list of land controlled by Red Army, they now controlled a cluster of five countries, as well as bases in multiple cities in other countries right under their leaders’ noses. All things considered, they were moving at a much faster rate than even the previous leader had anticipated. So Tord was surprised when his right hand men were less than elated at his next plan.

“You want to invade ENGLAND?!”

“Well yes, we already have several small bases within their boundary but I believe we can utilize them to make a fourth-“

Patryck cut Tord off, shaking his head. “No, that’s not the crazy part. Tord, Britain is a whole ‘nother level, we simply don’t have the strength yet. We can’t do this without going public, and we’d lose everything if we do that now-“

Tord held up a gloved hand for silence, letting out an airy laugh at his subordinates’ faces. “You didn’t allow me to tell you the important part. We have other resources, you know.” He pointed to a certain point on the map of England before them, what looked like a suburban district. “You are aware I used to live here, yes?” The pair nodded, and he continued, “I was not idle during this time, I had multiple projects, some more successful than others… but luckily for us, my best project remains. There is an enormous mech suit hidden under the house, several stories tall and outfitted with all sorts of weapons. Defences could still be raised I believe, but it is more than adequate for taking the capitol when the time comes.”

Paul nodded, more appreciative of this plan now. “We will still need time to prepare, there’s no way we can do this immediately.”

“Of course. I have no time or plans to reclaim the bot immediately, and there isn’t really a reason to yet. It’s in a perfectly safe location, and we have other matters to attend to in the meantime. This is a long-term plan, maybe two years, longer if we need it. In the meantime, we’ll continue with current affairs.” Tord rolled up the map, setting it to the side. “It goes without saying that this stays between us?”

“Yes sir.” Paul and Patryck saluted (fairly unnecessary, but they had always been sticklers for protocol) and left the office, their attentions required elsewhere. Tord stayed at the desk, surveying the map before him, littered with notes and scribbles of various plots. His hand brushed that small suburban area once more, thinking. This plan was good, and made fine use of all possible resources; it could definitely succeed and as soon as the army takes England, the world would be soon to follow. Or, well, at least much more manageable. Of course, getting the robot back might be a bit of a trick... Ah, who was he kidding? It would be a simple mission of in and out, just convince his old friends everything was the same as it had always been, get into his lab, and get the bot. Piece of cake.

 

* * *

 

Obviously, this went horribly wrong.

It was three and a half years until he went back for the mech, several subsequent weeks before Red Leader was in any shape to be out of the med bay, and should have been several more before he could even think about leaving the base. Paul and Patryck had to stop many an escape attempt by the damaged man, pulling him out of airplanes just before they took off or declining him access to mission vehicles. Meanwhile rumours spread, of setbacks and the loss of the entire plan to take London. Of course, on top of these was the obvious issue of their leader’s failure; one commander in particular kept bringing up this issue, stirring up the already agitated troops.

Of course Tord was aware of this, why do you think he was trying to leave base? He wanted to get out and do something, anything, to start redeeming himself. But mostly, he didn’t want to think too closely about what he had just attempted to do. He really had been badly hurt in the crash, it was a miracle he had survived in the first place. Most of the damage had been on his right side, but even with that he had been lucky, as nothing was permanently damaged (at least beyond usefulness). Of course his sight and hearing on that side had been especially affected, but it could all be restored or repaired. He had believed at first he would lose his arm, that seemed the worst injury of the lot, but as much as it was going to scar the doctors informed him he would be able to keep it. That was where he was extremely lucky; he was right-handed, and would have lost even his ability to fire a gun.

And of course it didn't help that there were a rather large number of soldiers calling for his resignation. Most vocal out of these was actually one of his generals, by the name of Aris. Reports from some of his few still closely trusted soldiers claimed he was exciting the already restless recruits, encouraging the rumours of an uprising to be had. Tensions were rising and there was no easy way to defuse anything. In Tord's mind, the only way to regain his sure footing as leader was some crazy mission, reestablishing his reputation and much of the blind faith he had enjoyed so recently.

Of course Paul and Patryck tried to talk him out of it, that he would probably only make the situation worse in his condition, but Tord was never one to listen to advice. In a rash decision, he along with a large group of more loyal soldiers took to the current front line in Lithuania, where they were actually engaging with the country's troops. The idea was to make one huge push, taking the country's capitol in one large-scale operation.

This failed. Terribly. More than two-thirds of the troops involved were lost, the army was forced to all but retreat the country, just barely retaining their hold on the border. Tord had to practically be dragged away from the fight, even as the retreat took place.

On their return, Tord took note immediately of the suspicious silence throughout the building, not a soldier to be seen past the guards. He had been expecting something of the sort, but had hoped triumphant news could rewrite the scene about to take place. The way his luck was headed though, there was no chance.

His first sighting of those against him came in the front hall of the main building; two soldiers, who had been milling about talking just moments before, darted off down the hall towards center command as soon as he came into view. Tord sighed, watching them run off and continuing on after them.

His com buzzed, Patryck's voice coming through the static-y speaker. "Sir? You back?"

"Yes," Tord replied, putting one hand on the com and keeping the other on his pistol.

"No disrespect sir, but we were right, they're all in the meeting hall and-"

"I'm aware, I'm headed there now."

"No don't do that! Let's just-"

"Patryck." Tord's voice was low, too calm for the situation. "I'm going to talk to them. If I fail or the chance arises, you and Paul instigate route 303. If I'm not there in ten abandon the project if you can, without being caught."

There was silence temporarily, then the reply, "Yes sir. Good luck."

Good luck. What a joke. He dropped the com to his side, entering the meeting hall. Sure enough, it was full of soldiers, all with their weapons and talking loudly amongst themselves; at Red Leader's entrance, a wave of silence swept across the crowd, moving slowly at first but speeding up til the room was frozen still.

Tord continued on his way, staggering up onto the somehow empty stage; he stood up there in silence for a moment, surveying the crowd. "What is this." None of the soldiers would meet his eyes, bar those more passionate ones in the front of the crowd. He was glad to see he still inspired a little fear.

"Can't you piece even this together on your own? You're through, Red Leader." Aris entered the side of the stage now, striding out in full leader uniform with a smirk Tord would have loved to smack off his perfect face.

"I would like to think even you aren't brash enough to attempt a coup, Aris."

He tapped his breast, where a shiny new pin depicting the head leader's symbol now sat. "That's Leader to you, civilian."

Alright that was enough. Tord drew his gun, but before he could even release the safety the clicks of about fifty other arms being pointed at him made him hesitate. Aris laughed at this display (god he was so cocky) and stepped closer, taunting Tord now. "I wouldn't try that, it's going to be considered treason for anyone to be pointing a weapon towards me soon."

Tord looked out over the crowd once more, trying to make eye contact with a few soldiers he recognized as allies; but none would meet him. Aris was in the perfect position, with the perfect number backing him up to both be intimidating and enforce his ridiculous step up. His people were scared, and probably with good reason. He turned back to Aris, glaring at him defiantly. "Then, leader, on your head be it. This army will return to my command, believe that."

Aris rolled his eyes. "Ah yes, of cou- hey!" As he replied, Tord had jumped off the stage into the crowd, running to the nearest exit and inciting a stampede of sorts through it. Aris surveyed the surging crowd disdainfully. "He interrupted me." He looked down off the stage, at his elite group of soldiers still awaiting orders. "Well? Go after him!"

 

* * *

 

For all the resources and skills an army came with, the rioting soldiers seemed incapable of tracking down their former leader in the crowd. Of course their own chaos was not forwarding their cause; they had only seemed to realize the man and his right hand men were gone when a plane was seen taking off, and were barely able to get the necessary people together to prime and fire a missile, crashing the vehicle not very far into the surrounding countryside. A squad was quickly assembled, heading out to the site to check for bodies before the authorities arrived; but as they drew close, they quickly realized they would not be able to get close to the now flaming wreck. With their return to base the riot quickly turned to a celebration, even the soldiers not directly involved fearing not to take part, especially with the current mob mentality. Of course, with all that raucous behaviour, (nearly) no one noticed a single missing car.

The now deposed leader and seconds-in-command fled the country, using old back roads and out of the way exits. They stuck to the British countryside, making their way, slowly but surely, back to a suburban neighbourhood that Tord refused to talk about. Their path led them back to that fateful hill, still littered with bits of wreckage. But instead of climbing it, returning to the end of an era, the trio stopped at the bottom of the cliff, another well-known place to each of them albeit for a very different reason.

They approached the sloping cliff face, carefully examining what looked like nothing more than dirt and stones to the outside eye. Tord ran a gloved hand along a ridge, pressing in at a tiny indentation. To a count of thirty, nothing happened; then, soundlessly, the door concealed in the rough swung open to reveal a passageway large enough to drive through.

This they did, climbing back into their vehicle and passing through before the door closed once more. The road before them stretched downward slowly, making a lazy spiral only a minute long or so, before evening out to a parkade of sorts, littered with a few other vehicles and several other exits. Exiting the vehicle, Tord chose one of the smaller exits and led his pilots up a small set of stairs into what seemed like the main unit of the base. Dormitories littered one side in particular, weapons bunkers and surveillance on another, but Tord led them into one lab, messy and obviously well-loved. They took a seat around one metal table, mostly clear of clutter; and for a few minutes, they were unanimously silent, taking in their situation.

Paul broke the silence first, fidgeting with a pencil on the table. "What is this place from again? You couldn't have built it all on your own."

"No, most of it was already here, I found it on accident when I was living with- when I was living in the house upstairs." Tord shrugged. "Some old government bunker or something, it was totally empty besides fixtures when I got my hands on it."

"So- sorry for the abruptness sir, but what is the plan?" Patryck was staring at Tord, not with any kind of anger or resentment, just a soft kind of worry. "They could very easily find out we're not dead."

"Yes, but I only ever told you two about this place. They can't find us here." Tord steepled his fingers, taking a slow deep breath. "We're going to regain our footing, I'm going to take time to heal properly, then we're going to take back the army."

"How?! Aris seemed to make things pretty clear, he's running the show now. Besides, he no doubt has a group of new commanders under him as well, if they have any brains at all they would have cut off anyone you could trust immediately. We don't have anyone."

"Correction, we have soldiers." Tord pulled a sheet of notes over from a nearby stack, flipping it over and beginning to write. "There were a lot of squadrons I worked closely with during their training, that I know would side with me. Plus, probably 40% of those in the base at the time were just going along with the riot, another 20% could be swayed back to me, add another 15% who could be... persuaded." He paused, obviously trying to estimate numbers. "We'll start on smaller bases first, they'll be the least effected by the coup and shouldn't care either way- scratch that, if Aris makes any big changes that effect them they'll come right back to me."

"What good will it do to have the bases' allegiance though, if it just means Aris catches word we're alive?"

Tord pointed his pen at Paul, as if punctuating his good point. "We won't be taking their allegiance, we'll be taking their people. I figure we could keep five thousand soldiers under here, it stretches out way farther than you saw, and even more important will be our spies who stay on the inside. We aren't going to retake the army as is, we're going to make a completely new army, then destroy the old one from the inside out."

Paul laughed. "That's why you were so quiet on the ride over, you've got this all figured out don't you?"

"Of course. What else did you think I was doing, sulking?" Tord grinned, a real smile surprisingly enough. "But like I said, we need time to get this base and me back in shape."

Patryck had been quiet during this exchange, but now he spoke up. "Do we have to worry about our neighbours upstairs? Do they know about this location, would they expose us?"

Tord was silent for a moment. "No. They don't know about it, and they won't. There's only one entrance to the house from here, and it would take more work than they would know how to do to open it. I intend to keep them out of this."

Patryck nodded. "Then I say it sounds like a good idea. Let's do this."

 

* * *

 

“So we’re agreed on Luxembourg first then?”

Paul nodded. “Given we can convince the legion the way you say we can. I’m still not certain it’ll be a success.”

“I’m confident they can be reasoned with.” Tord spread the map a little farther, brushing the corner with a bandaged finger. “We’ll send a few messages in first, by way of the older code system, then maybe make a few appearances from a distance. Once soldiers start turning to our side, we’ll bring them back , through the cliff side and street entrances. Obviously the house is off-limits, but none of them need to know of that anyway.”

“Er… Sir?”

“I already told you Pat, you guys can use my name. At this point, there is no title I have earned back.” Tord glanced at the soldier, seeing him with a screen from the old base. “What are you looking at?”

“This is some of the transmissions going around home base right now… I think we might be compromised.”

“What?!” Tord grabbed the tablet, looking through the decoded messages quickly. The troops had indeed seemed to pinpoint their location, through some old records of Tord’s and a few tips. They only seemed to have the address of the house above however, not the existence of the bunker. “Faen, how long do we have…”

“Re- er, Tord?” Paul spoke up. “What are our options?”

Tord did not answer at first, instead paging through the rest of the stolen transmissions. “We have two days it seems, they don’t know we are aware of their scheming. Patryck, I need you to continue to gather information, don’t let them know we’re listening in though. Paul, I’ll need you to bring our car to the street entrance. I’ll get to work on a few of my old inventions, hopefully I can throw together enough to pull this off."

"Pull what off?"

Tord grinned. "Our deaths, of course."

**End Tape One**

 

* * *

 

The screen rolled to a blank, before flashing a dark background with the words, ‘insert next drive’.

Tom stared at this for a moment, before pulling the now empty drawer open again and feeling around inside it, in case he had missed anything. But no, the drawer was bare, and there were no other obvious hiding places at the desk. “Wait, no…” He ran a hand through his hair, feeling almost a panic at this development. "That's not it, that's not all! There has to be more, that's not... it doesn't explain..."

He sat down on the cold concrete floor, resting his head on his upright knees in defeat. That was it. He went through all that, managed to find this little bit of evidence against all odds, and still didn't get any kind of explanation at all.

If he could get out of here, and that was a huge "if", he could prove the robot was real- but he didn't get the full truth, what Tord had done to get them all in this position. And really, it wasn't like Tord was gonna share that information, he had already done such a thorough job of convincing everyone-

The sudden rustle of movement behind him made Tom jump to attention; before he could turn, confront the noise, fight for what might be his life, a hand reached past him. Palm turned upward, displaying scarred and worn fingers, it cradled a plain black memory stick tangled in cord. "Here."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> part two of flashback will be out soon :)


	9. Words Fail

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tw for minor gore and blood
> 
> The climax is here, all will be revealed in a matter of time.

Tord barely dodged the first punch thrown at him, luckily enough; Tom had thrown it with his metal arm. The second blow did catch him though, and he scrambled back, wheezing. "Wait wait wait, listen-" 

“Why should I?!” Tom didn’t pursue Tord, for the moment; he stood and watched Tord try to recompose himself, seething. 

“Because you’re here to find out what happened, right?” Tord held out his hand again, the memory stick still in his palm. “I’ve got the second half, let’s both watch it and-“ 

“So you can catch me off guard, let your henchmen in here to finish me off? I don’t think so.” 

Tord raised his hands innocently. “I locked the door behind me, Paul and Patryck don’t even know I’m in here, I snuck past them.” 

Laughing, Tom shook his head. “Yeah right, I’m not doing this again, you can say whatever you want to Matt and Edd but it doesn’t work with me.” 

“Listen, I want to know the truth as much as you do, alright? That first tape jogged some memories but it’s all disjointed, obviously there are two parts for a reason.” Tord skirted around Tom, unplugging the first usb and inserting the next. “It’s not like I haven’t already been in here with you so if you’re worried about me attacking you or something I would have done that already.” He took a seat on the stone floor, patting the space beside him invitingly. “I’m going to watch it, do you want to see whatever happened first hand or not?” 

Tom hesitated a moment, considering what Tord had to say. A whirlwind of anger and confusion and, if he was honest, fear, was swirling through his head. But hadn’t the point of this been closure, see this through the end? Here was his chance. There was no way to get out of here anyway, at least not yet. Out of the few options available, this wasn’t the worst. He sat down, a good foot and a half away from Tord, as the screen ahead began to play. 

\- 

It didn’t take Tord long to come up with what was, if not convoluted, an effective plan. He pitched it to his men, and after a few revisions and notes, they were confident it could be pulled off. It did involve quite a few of Tord’s inventions being repaired and repurposed, but nothing too difficult, especially compared to how hard it had been to get here in the first place. The only question remained, what to do about the roommates living above. 

“It’s not a question of keeping them out of it, if we don’t do something they’ll be suspected for conspiring with you anyway.” Patryck twirled a small screwdriver in his fingers, he had been helping already with some of the basic repairs. “The army will think you’re in your old lab upstairs, if you’re right about this area being secret.” 

“It definitely is, I never told anyone but you two and I’m sure it was in confidence.” The two henchmen nodded, and Tord continued, “I don’t think I can just walk in there and expect them to cooperate, not after the incident.” 

“And more opposition is the last thing we need.” The trio fell silent, no one having anything particularly helpful to say. 

Until of course Tord snapped his fingers, wincing slightly at the abrupt movement (he kept forgetting to be careful with his still healing parts). “The memory erasure gun.” 

Paul looked up. “The what?” 

Patryck understood slightly more of what Tord was getting at, “but Tord, if you erase their memories entirely, they’ll just get in the way more won’t they? Isn’t it better if they aren’t totally clueless?” 

“No no, I won’t do a total wipe; I’ll modify it, replace some bits, get rid of others,” Tord murmured, pacing slowly around their work table now, “I’ll have to get rid of that event of course, make my appearance less suspicious- I’ll erase my leaving entirely, make believe I’ve been there the whole time.” 

“Alright, given that you could actually do that, what about you? Can you keep up that act for an extended period of time?” Patryck was looking more skeptical. “It’s not like you can erase your memory too.” 

A slight pause, as Tord steepled his fingers under his nose and thought. “…Why not?” He turned around suddenly, grinning at the pair. “Yes, why not? You two are here to hold down the fort, your job will be to finish rooting the situation upstairs and surveillance. If anything goes drastically wrong, you can simply pull me down here and jog my memory! I’ll set aside some logs just for that purpose, when the time is right all you have to do is make me watch them and I’ll be back to my old self.” 

“Tord, I dunno-“ 

“What if you try to leave the house?” Paul was getting in on the conversation now, thinking of the more practical applications as usual. “We won’t be able to run up and stop you, and that will expose us more quickly than anything.” 

Tord waved a hand in dismissal. “I can edit some kind of excuse into my program, some reason as to why I won’t go out for the time being. Anyway, the important thing is that we keep suspicions to a minimum, that includes our friends upstairs as well as outside.” 

“You do realize they’re not going to willingly give up their memories?” Expression serious, Paul gave Tord a long hard look. “We’re going to have to do that by force. We don’t have time to sneak in or something ridiculous.” 

“I’m aware, I’ve calculated the risk and there are only a few variables that could go awry, and none that would stop us.” Tord nodded, a sign the conversation was over. “If you two can continue work on the holograms I’m going to set to the memory program. Shouldn’t take me very long, but come get me if there’s any complications with your work.” And with that he disappeared from the room, vacating to another lab. 

\- 

Early on the second day, before the crack of dawn, they got properly to work. Patryck, being slightly less wanted than the other two, had gone in disguise and set up all the outward projectors, beyond their own little property; all they had left to do was activate the devices hidden around the front yard. 

You see, the plan went a little something like this. Projectors, hidden within and outside the yard, were going to display exactly the scene they wanted to play out, in a way that would show their opponents just what they wanted to see. The sequence should go as follows; the simulation will play Tord, Paul and Patryck sneaking out of the house through a window; when the assault on the house starts (communications they stole said air strike and that’s what they were preparing for) it will look as though the house has been impacted, and in the end destroyed. By the end, hopefully after the assailants have nearly left, the projectors off the property will display the inhabitants of the house returning home from some adventure out. The hope is that showing the trio weren’t even home will avert some attention from them, as being innocent. 

Of course the house would not actually be hit; Tord had an invention for that. It was a forcefield of sorts, to use a loose term. Any missiles or weapons of the sort would impact with the shield, and disperse relatively harmlessly across its surface. The shield was great too, because anything moving at a slow pace could enter; allowing for another escape route should the need arise. 

So it was that in the morning, Tord, Paul and Patryck were actually outside; Paul and Patryck tweaking the projectors ever so slightly, and Tord setting the forcefield. Everything was working perfectly, but the tech was never the worry. Technology was his best ability, nothing he had built had malfunctioned for him before. It was people who failed, every time. But even now, in this crisp cool morning, that didn’t seem like a possibility. 

A little bit of this confidence waivered when the first helicopter appeared in their sky; at least they had been right about the air strike. Several more joined the first, and within a few moments they were closing in on the little house, hovering probably a hundred or so yards away. Their blades cutting through the air stirred a raucous noise on the quiet street, although not a breeze of air filtered through the invisible wall surrounding them. 

The clap of the front door opening was not exactly a pleasant contribution to the symphony mounting in the sky above. Tord didn't turn to look as the inhabitants of the house joined the mix. He did hear a slight gasp from Edd, something he was unsure how to feel about. “TORD!” Also a yell from Edd, that was funny, he had been expecting that from Tom- 

A punch to the side of his head caught him off guard; he recoiled, turning to see Matt now being approached by Paul and Patryck, who had dashed forward at the sight of the blow. Matt was already backing off, as Tom and Edd made their way forward. Edd looked nearly as livid as Matt, while Tom simply kept a neutral expression. 

“What do you think you’re doing here?” Edd stepped as far up to Tord as he could without Paul and Patryck getting in the way, as they were making clear they would. 

“Hello Edd.” Tord held the side of his head where he’d been hit tenderly; good punch from Matt. Interesting. “Sorry, I know this isn’t exactly the best of circumstances-“ 

“Yeah no kidding, it never does seem to be when you’re involved.” With a glance up, Edd took in the helicopters gathering around the house. “And you’ve brought an entourage? Didn’t think you could handle us on your own this time?” 

Paul stepped forward, obviously angry, but Tord waved a hand for him and Patryck to step back. “Believe it or not, they’re not with me. And I promise, I’ve got a plan, I can’t fill you in at the moment but-“ 

“But nothing, get lost!” Edd was having none of it, and by Matt’s expression he wasn’t either. Tom still seemed neither here nor there though, and it was him Tord turned to, if nothing else out of curiousity. “Ah, Tom. I thought you’d have an attitude more like Edd’s here.” 

Tom took a good hard look at Tord before shaking his head, pulling his flask out of his pocket. “I’m pretty sure none of this is real, not even you are stupid enough to come back again.” He took a long drink, apparently set on ignoring Tord altogether. 

Tord rolled his eyes, before turning back to the angry pair in front of him. “Listen, you see those helicopters up there? They’re here to kill me, and you lot by extension. So unless you’re looking to get killed today, you need to start listening to me. Paul, Patryck, if you could escort them inside please…” 

His soldiers nodded, moving towards the hoodied men, but Tom stepped forward, swatting Patryck’s outstretched hand away. “Let me get this straight. You’ve come back, doing some crazy stuff that has nothing to do with us, and you think we’re just going to stand aside?” 

“That’s the idea, yes. Besides, I thought you didn’t care?” Maybe Tord shouldn’t have been goading Tom on, but of course he would; there was no love lost between them. 

"No, you can't just do this again." Tom brushed past Patryck, ignoring the soldier's reprimand and storming straight up to Tord. “I won’t let you.” 

Tord shook his head. “Yes, you will.” 

Tom practically growled in response. “You son of a-“ He stepped closer, prompting Paul to grab Tom’s shoulder and wrench him back. The pair struggled for a moment, Tom indignant that someone would interfere (and not quite in his right mind) and using that anger. Ultimately though, Paul was far more trained in combat, especially as Tord’s right hand man; and with a final shove he knocked Tom flat on his back. Tom cursed, still angry, but it was Tord who saw what was about to happen, too late. 

When Tom fell to the ground, his right arm, moving at a relatively slower pace than the particles the shield was meant to block, passed through the forcefield. And just as he hit the ground, recovering from the blow and not yet trying to get up, the first of the inevitable missile volley impacted. The explosion, from the outside, looked as though it occurred on the house, knocking in the roof; in reality, the rocket exploded on the shield itself. And with nowhere else for the energy to go, the explosion arced along the shield, burning grass and fence and anything in the immediate area, including Tom’s exposed arm. 

Tom screamed. 

Of course his immediate instinct was to pull back on his arm, withdraw it into the safety of their yard, but it was as though the shield had closed around it, hardened against the blasts from the outside and not caring about the harm caused to the accidental victim. Another missile hit, closer, before aid finally came to the blue-hooded male. 

As could be anticipated, Edd and Matt had come running forward as soon as Tom had been hit, but neither of them understood what exactly had happened; Tord and Paul however, and Pat when he had also run over, were able to understand, at least roughly, why the shield had caught Tom. Paul, forgetting his earlier grievance, dashed forward and gently pressed against the shield around Tom’s arm. The shield went slack, aided by the next rocket’s impact zone being higher up, and Patryck helped slide his damaged arm back through the safety zone. 

As soon as he felt his arm free, Tom tried to both yank his arm back and get up from the ground; either of these would have been a feat to accomplish on his own, but together were impossible. He crumpled back to the ground, gasping in pain. Mistake number two was trying to use his injured arm, which he had still not really looked at, to catch himself; luckily Edd grabbed him before he could land on the broken appendage, pulling him back into a sitting position against his larger friend. 

And Tord? Tord was still standing there, perhaps in shock or just disbelief that anything like this could have happened. He watched the situation unfold, watched as Matt started to panic, watched while Edd tried to keep Tom from both descending into shock or trying to get back up to show Tord what for. Paul had tried to approach the injured man, but Edd had shot him a glare so intense he had backed up. Now he and Patryck stood to the side, waiting for Tord to give an order. 

The only thing Tord could think, though, was “stick to the plan”. He nodded at his soldiers, holding up three fingers – a pre-determined signal. They in turn stepped towards the small group, each taking a small sedative from their pockets. 

Matt didn’t see Paul coming, and passed out straightaway. Edd did realize what was happening, and managed to fend Paul off- leaving him open to Patryck. And Tom, well, he was practically in shock at this point, and didn’t struggle as the needle pierced his neck. Tord crouched before him as he passed out, forcing himself to examine the damage to Tom’s arm. This was all very reminiscent of his own damaged limb, but after just a glance Tord thought this might be worse. The arm itself was visible through jagged tears in the burnt hoodie, dark and blackened in the burnt areas; these spaces though were quickly becoming more red than anything else. Yes the hoodie was torn, and whatever had ripped through the hoodie had obviously torn through Tom’s arm as well. Tord couldn’t see any pieces of shrapnel for certain, but the entire limb was such a mess it was no wonder. His hand especially was bad, having had zero protection from the blasts at all. 

Tord looked away, instead now looking at his soldiers. Paul had an arm slung around Matt, and Patryck had his knee against Edd’s back to support both him and Tom. With a nod, Tord stood. “Follow the original plan, but Tom will have to be brought to Lab 6, I believe that’s where the medical supplies were stashed. Bring the other two to Rec 1, make sure they are kept asleep. I’ll get to altering their memories as soon as I can.” 

His soldiers saluted, Patryck picking Tom up carefully and laying Edd back against the grass. Tord stood there, just for a moment; taking in the slack bodies of his former roommates, the relative peace of the bubble around their home, and the now retreating helicopters. He let out a soft breath, before picking up Edd (a difficult feat, as Edd was a good head taller than him) and making his own way inside. 

\- 

There was a space of time, after this drama and before the next, where Tord had no idea what to do. Perhaps he was finally in over his head. Assumedly, their decoy had worked, and the army now believed them dead. At least, the few radio transmissions they had caught didn’t contradict this. But so much of their plan now seemed pointless, meaningless; downright foolhardy. Why had this seemed like a good idea? 

The biggest problem, at this point, was Tom. Everyone else could go forward with the plan fairly easily, but Tom’s arm would need time and supplies they didn’t have to make any kind of recovery. A day had already passed, during which they had simply tried to make sure he didn’t bleed out. Paul had confirmed, the damage was worse than Tord’s own arm had been, and would take probably six weeks of multiple surgeries and skin grafts if it was to be saved. Something they could not afford. 

Tord knew there was a very easy option here, something that would save them quite a lot of time and effort. And yet, he hesitated to give the order. He couldn’t put a word to why. He did know he couldn’t just leave the injury; after all, with this next step his own outlook on life would be changing, and he couldn’t allow a trip to the hospital to become a necessary idea. So, when he could not possibly delay it any longer, Tord gave Paul permission to amputate. 

Meanwhile, needing to keep himself busy, Tord set about programming the memories for each of the four, including himself. Edd and Matt’s were easy, of course, bar adding the extra event to explain Tom’s loss of limb. It was his own that would prove hardest, as he had to try to think ahead and provide some kind of explanation for any question his modified mind may have. This turned out to be a very many questions, which Tord had anticipated but sure gave him a headache. Tom’s had some purposefully blank spots, especially surrounding the “lab accident” that would supposedly have taken place. He was very naturally suspicious, if anyone was going to sense something wasn’t right it would be Tom; so the less details the better. 

It was as he was programming the last of the memory banks that Tord had a quick realization; a piece of equipment he still had lying around, that given a few tweaks, could be useful once again. He dashed off to the lab, after setting his memory erasure system to start with Edd and Matt. 

It took a bit of rummaging around and several flashbacks to find the piece, but finally he had it; one of the robot arms from the remains of his mech, just about standard human size. He inspected it, turning it over in his hands; yes, this could work, this could practically make things right. He rummaged around in the container he had found it in, pulling another one out that had been damaged in the crash; he’d need it for parts. With a glance at the clock, he sighed; two days max to make this work would meet their schedule, including trying to fit the arm to Tom; which left him with just about a day and a bit to meet the mechanical standard necessary. This was going to be a long night. 

\- 

The arm worked, thankfully; it took Tord and Paul slightly longer than expected to work out nerve connections so the arm and hand in particular could move (as it turned out human anatomy is more difficult than it looks, particularly nerves; Tord decided he would stick to guns and robots from now on). The actual size of the arm didn’t need much modification though, and before long it had been grafted onto Tom’s shoulder. 

Of course they could only run basic nerve tests, unless they wanted to run the risk of waking Tom up to test the arm properly; and somehow, no one on their little team wanted to do that. So they set Tom’s memory program to start, and Tord begins to set up his own. 

“So just put everyone in their rooms, I’ve shown you the layout of the house already- you’ll have to dry out Tom’s old room, but that shouldn’t take much longer than the program needs to finish its work. Everyone will probably be out for a few more hours after that, bar Tom of course, so keep that in mind.” Tord attached the nodes and sensors necessary to himself as he spoke, knowing these would be his last directions to his soldiers for quite some time. “If for some reason there is something wrong with the prosthetic I should have the tools in my lab for whatever minor repair it would be, it’s not like I’ll forget how to use them. What else, what else… We’ll stick with the three month plan but you’re free to make an alternate call if need be. Leave my USB… I dunno, in my pocket or something, it is locked but I should know not to try to get into it; the rest of them should be in Lab 1 by my plasma monitor, I think there are a few drawers around there that should do nicely.” 

Paul and Patryck listened patiently, despite having heard all of this in some shape or form several times over already. When Tord finally seemed at the end of his instructions, Paul clapped a hand on his shoulder. “No worries boss. Enjoy the time with your friends.” 

Tord reddened considerably. “That’s not the point of this.” 

“Well you have the opportunity now anyways. Take advantage.” 

The trio fell into silence, Tord now finished setting up his own system and sitting back in the reclining chair, same as the others had done. This felt very final for some reason, the end of an era perhaps? The future ahead was more uncertain than it had ever been. Around this little group the lab hummed softly, adding its own thoughts in the form of small whirring and blinking lights. Tord had purposefully left many of the machines on, enjoying the background noise as he worked and now as he left behind everything he had been dedicating his life towards, at least for the moment. This had been one of his favourite places for the entirety of his old life here, and he had missed it more than he cared to admit while he had been with the army. The quiet and solitude of the enormous bunker was comforting, in a weird reverse kind of way. He closed his eyes, letting out a soft sigh; if something went terribly wrong, and he never came back here, he wanted to enjoy this last moment, with the place he had never stopped considering home and the two men he could safely count as his last friends. 

Tord didn’t open his eyes as Paul injected him with the sedative, simply murmuring a quiet, “goodbye,” before passing out into what would be his new life for the next several months. 

\- 

Tord spoke first. And not because he particularly wanted to, or because he had something worth communicating; he just couldn’t stand the silence. He remembered everything, and the feelings mixed up and concerning it all was overwhelming. Not to mention he had no idea where Tom’s head was at. Maybe he’d throw another punch his way. It would be deserved, that’s for sure. “So, yes. You were right.” Tom didn’t acknowledge him, and Tord kept going. “You were right, I wasn’t trustworthy, I lied to you all. Again.” He laughed, not happy or sad, just a noise, something to fill the void before him; “I thought I could do this, thought I could pull it off. It was only going to be a few months, then I was going to leave properly, leave you all alone. But I even screwed that up.” 

Tom still didn’t look at Tord, didn’t return any words, just stared blankly at the screen before him. Tord looked at him, exasperated. “Could you at least bother to join the conversation? Come on, you’re right, lord it over me. God, I liked it better when you were shouting.” 

“How were you planning to get out of this before?” 

The question caught Tord off guard, and so he answered honestly. “Once the heat seemed to have died down, Paul and Patryck were going to find a way to isolate me, bring me down here and jog my memory. Obviously this is premature, but then we were going to start infiltrating bases for loyal soldiers, bring them back here, to this underground base, and take back the army eventually, probably through one of the main bases. This base actually spreads out under most of the city, we were only focused here because of the attention on the house and a few other conveniences.” He sighed, running a scarred hand through his bangs. “Now we may move out entirely, just go for one of the smaller bases and take it from there.” 

“From what you’ve said, that won’t work.” 

Tord looked at him, disbelieving. “What does that matter? This plan was only marginally better, either one was a bad idea. Chance of success was so low, and I still chose to put everyone in this shitty situation.” 

Tom is quiet again, and Tord is nearly at his wit’s end. All he wants is for this conversation to be over. But before he snaps again, Tom continues, “What about Edd and Matt?” 

“What?” 

“I mean, obviously they bought your story, whatever memory changer-thing you did on them worked just fine. Would you restore their memory? And if you did, would that be any safer for them than they currently are?” 

“In that order, yes and no. Restoring their memories, who knows how they’ll react. Which is fine, but if they do something to expose what really happened, it will put a target on you all again, for conspiring with me. The plan was not to fill you guys in until after I reclaimed the army… or died trying, I guess.” Tord laughed again. “I figured if anything went terribly wrong, you guys would find your way down here eventually, you all do have a knack for getting anywhere you shouldn’t.” 

“And is anything actually compromised at the moment? For… the base, or whatever.” 

Tord couldn’t think of why Tom was asking all this, but he answered him nevertheless. “No? I don’t think so, unless you broke something I didn’t see on my way through. Everything is pretty well hidden, it would have to be a pretty big explosion or something.” 

Tom nodded slowly. “Then… stay.” 

A beat, and then another, before Tord asked the only question he could think of. “Why?” Then, because that didn’t feel like quite enough, he continued, “After all this, you know what happened now, why would you want this to continue?” 

A glance shot in Tord’s direction, with the reply, “Don’t get me wrong, I’m doing this for Edd and Matt, not you. Like that guy said, we’re in danger just because we used to know you, if you run off right now and get in more trouble we’ll be on the hook too.” He let out a soft breath, playing with the strings of his hoodie as a distraction. “I don’t want to associate with you, I don’t think you deserve this; but you should stay, for them.” 

Tord fell silent, not sure what to say. ‘Thank you’ didn’t seem appropriate. He was spared having to say anything though, when Tom continued, “Actually wait, one condition; I really don’t want to do this all over again, you have to keep me at least posted on what’s going on. Whatever you’re doing with the army or the bunker down here, I want to know.” 

“Fair enough, that’s a deal.” With a nod, Tord drifted off into his own thoughts again, then made a connection. “Wait, just you? What about Edd and Matt?” 

Tom shrugged. “I think… they’re happy, at the moment. And I think if we fill them in, they won’t be. So we’ll stick with your original plan more or less, and tell them after. Besides, it’ll be simpler, you won’t have to worry about another me running around and screwing things up.” 

Tord snorted at that. “True.” He stood up, prompting Tom to do the same. As Tom collected the USBs from the desk and monitor, Tord hesitated a moment. “Look, Tom… about-“ 

“No, mm-mm, nope.” The memory sticks clicked against each other in Tom’s hand, as he turned to look at Tord. “I know what you’re gonna say, and listen- It is what it is, alright?” Tord tried to continue, but Tom cut him off. “Yes it was kind of your fault, no I’m not going to make a big deal about it because honestly it’s pretty messed up and I don’t want to think about it. Let’s just, agree to let it drop, alright?” 

With a slow nod, Tord agreed. “Alright. But, please do let me know if you need maintenance on it or whatever, I do really want to make sure it works fine for you.” 

“Sure. Not like I know anything about it.” Tom opened his palm, offering Tord the USBs. But to his surprise, Tord only took his own two, leaving the others. “Think you missed some, there.” 

“No, you keep those. Yours is useless anyway, and I’ll let it be your call when you give Edd and Matt theirs. Consider it a bit of insurance.” Tord began to make his way out of the darkened lab, and motioned for Tom to follow. “Unless you want to deal with Paul and Patryck again I suggest you stick with me, I imagine they are a little less than pleased with you at the moment,” He called backward, words echoing in the still space. 

Tom stood still for a moment, letting the words bounce off him. He glanced down at the USBs in his sweaty palm, and after a moment’s thought transferred them into his opposite hand, then into his hoodie pocket. He kept the robotic arm there, starting to weave back around messy tables and pulled-out benches. “I’m right behind you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If there are any plot bits that don't make sense, feel free to ask me! I love answering questions lol  
> And thus ends the first climax of this story; it will be a major turning point from this place on so get pumped for that (if you've read any of my other works you may know what I'm building up to) ;)

**Author's Note:**

> Woomp there it is.  
> For fan art and news about the story, follow me on my tumblr, at kzdippingsauce! :D


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